Also at the Lower Falls
Also at the Lower Falls in McKinney Falls State Park on April 15th I saw a great blue heron, Ardea herodias. According to John Tveten, this is the largest of our herons, standing some 4 ft. (1.2m) tall. Of the various pictures that I took of it, I’ve chosen to show this one because of the curious way the line of the bird’s bill, with its orange-brown lower part, seemed to me from a distance to follow around into the similarly colored and presumably iron-rich stain on the rock behind it that was roughly a mirror image of the heron’s neck. Notice how the dark patch on the bird’s shoulder also finds echoes in the dark depressions in the rock.
© 2016 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
beautiful and majestic bird. to see them fly always fills me with wonder.
DailyMusings
May 5, 2016 at 6:29 AM
It’s sometimes hard to believe that such a large bird can get off the ground.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 7:21 AM
I am always amazed when they take off- as you said unexpected grace from such a large bird
DailyMusings
May 5, 2016 at 8:14 PM
And I’m usually disappointed when they take off because that means I won’t get any pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 8:31 PM
Steven: He sure is a handsome rascal. Nice capture
elmdriveimages
May 5, 2016 at 7:24 AM
The photographer can be a rascal at times too.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 7:37 AM
Very good looking bird.
Beautywhizz
May 5, 2016 at 8:06 AM
The largest and therefore most imposing of the herons not only in Texas but all of North America.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 9:41 AM
Great bird, great picture(s)!
Pit
May 5, 2016 at 8:46 AM
I was fortunate that it didn’t move around much for several minutes so I could get pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 9:42 AM
By the way, your parentheses around the last s in your comment are appropriate because the closer view is zoomed in from the first photograph. Having a lot of megapixels is an advantage.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 5:04 PM
That mirroring is very striking. Aren’t they lovely birds? I never tire of coming across them.
melissabluefineart
May 5, 2016 at 10:37 AM
The mirroring was an unusual opportunity, unlike anything I recall. The creeks and ponds here lead to encounters with herons from time to time. Often they’re too distant or fly away when I approach. This one was still farther away than I would’ve like but close enough that I could still get some decent pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 3:41 PM
One of the few birds that I can photograph…just large enough to shoot with our lesser glass, so to speak. I also see the stain as a reverse of the heron’s curve.
Steve Gingold
May 5, 2016 at 1:21 PM
I got as close as the terrain allowed and used the longest lens I have, the 70–200 with 1.4x extended, but longer would have been better. My impression through the viewfinder was of two herons, because of the stain.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 3:34 PM
Love the mirroring in that stain! It’s a very similar looking heron to our grey but apparently about 20cm taller!! That’s quite a lot.
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
May 5, 2016 at 2:28 PM
A magical mirroring, the gain of a stain.
In doing some research this morning I read about your gray heron and saw that it’s large but not quite as large as the American one.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 3:37 PM
Yep, not quite! You see how similar they are though? It’s one that I photograph a lot on the canal 🙂 Seeing them roosting and nesting up in the trees is slightly surreal!
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
May 5, 2016 at 4:57 PM
Sounds like you get more and better views of your heron than I do of ours. I’m glad for what I can get.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 5:02 PM
People walk and cycle right past Harry without even spotting him!! I have to say that he can hold a pose like the best statue 😉 Yes, we’re blessed with some wildlife! It’s all a matter of where in the world you live. There’s ideal habitat for them here. Lots of waterways, lakes and ponds with relatively short flying distances between them 🙂 There’s even a large number of herons in Hyde Park as the Serpentine is perfect for them! I’ve sat within a metre of one and, yes, it was awesome 😀
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
May 5, 2016 at 5:24 PM
I visited an edge of Hyde Park when I was in London 20 years ago but I don’t remember the Serpentine. It’s good for your purposes.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 6:44 PM
Hyde Park is big!! My favourite parts are by the water’s edge and the smaller brooks 🙂 I don’t get into London as much as I used to! I have so much beauty and nature around me! Going to attempt to photograph our peregrines in my local town, Woking! Here’s a webcam link http://wokingperegrines.akikodesign.com/
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
May 6, 2016 at 6:22 PM
Good luck working in Woking with the peregrines.
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 9:17 PM
I’ll need it 😉
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
May 7, 2016 at 5:41 PM
Beautiful shot – they are such elegant birds
norasphotos4u
May 5, 2016 at 7:59 PM
Indeed they are. I wish I had more chances to get close.
Steve Schwartzman
May 5, 2016 at 8:29 PM
I wonder if this one isn’t developing its breeding plumage. It doesn’t have any of the black head plumes, but those feathers along its throat and chest certainly are long. The green lores (the bit of skin between the bill and the eyes) turn blue during breeding, and the bill and legs change color, too. Judy Lovell has a wonderful closeup of a great blue in full regalia.
I’d love to see one all decked out, but it’s enough just to have them hanging around. I was interested to see this one at the Falls. They’ll hang out at the edge of the surf in Galveston from time to time, plucking fish from the waves. The combination of the live bird and the rock stain makes me think of primitive cave art. I’d rather have a heron as a model than a musk-ox.
shoreacres
May 5, 2016 at 10:50 PM
It seems proximity has given you and Judy Lovell a good sense of the life of a great blue heron. You can probably tell that I don’t know much about it. Everything you’ve said about the bird is new to me, including the word lore, unrelated to the second part of folklore. I see now that lore is an Anglicized version of Latin lōrum, which meant ‘thong.’ If I came across a musk-ox at McKinney Falls, whether alive or painted on rocks, that would be the stuff of folklore
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 5:49 AM
Perfect timing! Good to see birds here, Steve. Loved the photo!
Nandini
May 6, 2016 at 12:44 AM
I don’t often get close enough for bird pictures, but once in a while it happens.
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 5:49 AM
Beautiful, avian, portrait.
Pairodox Farm
May 6, 2016 at 5:01 AM
As this blog is called Portraits of Wildflowers, you made me wonder if there’s such a thing as a birdflower. Turns out there is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalaria_cunninghamii
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 5:54 AM
Indeed. My eye immediately formed a Gold Finch out of one of those blooms on the right.
Pairodox Farm
May 6, 2016 at 6:11 AM
Good old pareidolia.
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 6:57 AM
Good word for Scrabble …
Pairodox Farm
May 6, 2016 at 7:50 AM
I don’t think I’ve played Scrabble in decades. I used to like it.
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 7:53 AM
Since Ardea herodias means heron heron it seems appropriate to have mirrors and echoes in your photo of this gorgeous bird.
Gallivanta
May 6, 2016 at 5:46 AM
I like your double-take on the situation. It gives us a double dip into the Classical languages, first Latin and then Greek. Anyone who invokes etymology for a heron is my hero (or heroine).
Steve Schwartzman
May 6, 2016 at 6:08 AM
Very elegant Steve …
Julie@frogpondfarm
May 8, 2016 at 1:43 PM
That’s an appropriate reaction to the largest American heron.
Steve Schwartzman
May 8, 2016 at 2:38 PM
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